Pulpitis is sensitive to cold or heat?

Written by Fang Xiao
Dentistry
Updated on January 28, 2025
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Pulpitis is sensitive to both cold and heat, and this sensitivity is a symptom of the condition. The dental pulp is protected by enamel and dentin, and generally does not exhibit sensitivity. However, if there are deep cavities, split wedge-shaped defects, severe wear, or fractures that compromise the outer protection, it can lead to inflammation of the dental nerve and sensitivity to temperature changes. In such cases, nerve removal treatment, also known as root canal treatment, is required. Root canal treatment involves the removal of the pulp and necrotic material from the root canal, disinfecting it, and tightly filling the root canal to eliminate any infection that could adversely affect the surrounding periapical tissue and prevent re-infection. Root canal treatment requires three to four follow-up visits and can be costly. Therefore, it is important to detect and treat cavities early.

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Written by Li Bao Hua
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Can pulpitis be cured?

Pulpitis is caused by the further development of caries, which allows bacterial infection to reach the pulp tissue, causing an inflammatory reaction. Caries is just a bacterial infection of the hard tissues of the teeth. If it is stopped in time, that is, by drilling to remove the infected part and filling the tooth, it is very difficult for pulpitis to occur. If the bacteria are not removed in time with a drill, further infection can cause inflammation of the tooth nerve, resulting in symptoms of pulpitis, including obvious pain from cold, heat, acidity, and sweetness stimuli, nighttime pain, and worsening with temperature stimuli. Pulpitis requires dental treatment, including nerve devitalization, medication after nerve death, and ultimately root canal filling. This means that a complete root canal treatment is needed to cure it.

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What are the symptoms of pulpitis?

Pulpitis is divided into acute pulpitis and chronic pulpitis. The symptoms of chronic pulpitis are not as apparent. When acute pulpitis occurs, it manifests as nocturnal pain, pain stimulated by hot and cold, spontaneous pain, and the pain is difficult to localize. Patients experience severe pain when rinsing with cold or hot water, or when brushing their teeth. The pain intensifies during the quiet of the night. Another symptom is referred pain; when one tooth hurts, it can cause pain in half the face and half the head. If these symptoms appear, it is generally diagnosed as pulpitis, and it is crucial to go to the hospital for diagnosis and treatment as soon as possible.

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Remedies for Tooth Pulpitis Pain at Night

Pulpitis pain is a type of acute pain that occurs after the dental nerve is infected by bacteria. The pulp tissue is a soft tissue, surrounded by the hard dentin and bone. Therefore, once the pulp tissue is infected, the pressure inside the pulp cavity increases rapidly, and if this pressure is not relieved, it can lead to sharp, severe pain, especially at night, often waking one from sleep. Pulpitis pain at night first requires prompt medical attention, followed by pulp opening and drainage. After the inflammation subsides, it can effectively relieve the pain. If medical attention is not available in time, oral analgesics can be taken for pain relief.

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Do I go to the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery for pulpitis?

Pulpitis requires a visit to the department of stomatology or the department of dental cariology and endodontics. Some hospitals, with more detailed department divisions, differentiate between adults and children. Generally, individuals under 18 years old fall under the pediatric dentistry department. Those 18 and older need to visit the department of dental cariology and endodontics. Pulpitis is a painful condition caused by bacterial infection of the dental nerve, clinically manifested by pain when eating, night-time pain, localized pain, and worsening pain upon exposure to hot and cold stimuli. Treatment for pulpitis involves root canal therapy. This involves drilling to remove the infected dental tissue, then performing root canal medicament filling, followed by inflammation control and root canal filling.

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Can pulpitis cause headaches?

Pulpitis can cause headaches. Pulpitis is caused by the progression of dental caries, and it is the natural outcome of dental caries. Bacterial infections cause the dental nerve to become purulent and necrotic, or cause an acute inflammatory response in the dental nerve, which is pulpitis. The clinical symptoms of pulpitis include pain stimulated by hot and cold, which becomes more noticeable when consuming hot or cold food, or the pain may be non-localizable, which is also a typical symptom of pulpitis. It often happens that if one tooth suffers from pulpitis, the pain may occur in teeth on the same side of both the upper and lower jaws, and it is unclear which specific tooth is causing the pain, due to the non-localizing nature of pulpitis. Additionally, sometimes the pain may radiate towards the ear causing headaches, which is why pulpitis can lead to headaches.